1:00 p.m., Polunsky Prison
“He’s lying.” Warden Don Prentice made his announcement and pushed out of his chair, indicating his already thin patience had reached an end. “You know what this is, and I’m not taking the bait.”
Lyle McCaleb waited for a reaction from his boss, Simon Ruhl, head of the Colby Agency’s new Houston office, or from the agency’s matriarch, Victoria Colby-Camp. Simon exchanged a look with Victoria then turned to the warden. “Mr. Prentice, we genuinely appreciate your indulgence in this matter. I must admit that I concur with your assessment in light of the facts as we know them.”
“That said,” Victoria continued as if the rebuttal were a well-rehearsed strategy and she was about to play bad cop, “as warden of this institution, you have an obligation to report this theoretical threat to the proper authorities. Our agency does not have that same legal obligation. However, we have a moral one. We cannot just walk away and pretend this incident never happened.”
Prentice shoved back the sides of his jacket, planted his hands on his hips and gave his head a frustrated shake. “Do you have any idea what stirring up this mess in the media will do to those families?” He paced back and forth behind his desk like an inmate in his compact cell. “There’s no way to keep it out of the press.” Prentice stopped and stared at Victoria, then Simon. “The folks who thrive on this kind of heartache have been waiting for this moment for twenty-two years!”
“I do understand,” Simon agreed once more. “That’s exactly why I hope you’ll see the logic in our proposition.”
Lyle figured things could go either way from here. Prentice had agreed to this conference after Victoria’s brief meeting with Barker this morning. Three hours had elapsed since that time with Victoria, her husband, Lucas, and Simon organizing a feasible strategy and the necessary resources. Lyle had jumped at the assignment. As the former head of one of Houston’s most prestigious security firms, he knew the business of protection, and his tracking skills were top-notch from his days as a county sheriff’s deputy. Add to that the fact that he was a lifelong resident of Texas and the combined bonus of high-level connections with a number of those in law enforcement, and he was the best man for the job. Initially, Simon and Victoria had hesitated. Texas was home and perhaps that made him less than objective. Though he’d only been seven at the time of the Barkers’ arrest, his parents had followed news of the high-profile case for years after that.
He might not be the most objective investigator on staff, but in his opinion, that deep-seated understanding of how the entire travesty had affected the community as well as the state could prove useful in solving this puzzle. Fortunately, Simon and Victoria had concluded the same.
Lucas was not happy about his wife’s insistence on being so deeply involved in this case. Recently retired from the day-to-day operations of the Colby Agency, the two were in Houston for only a few months. Just long enough to get the new office staffed and running efficiently. Simon was clearly more than capable of getting the job done on his own, but Lyle sensed Victoria and Lucas were dragging their feet with the whole retirement thing. Suited him just fine. Lyle was grateful for the opportunity to work with the esteemed Victoria Colby-Camp. Lucas was more or less an unknown to him, but Lyle was acquainted with the Colby name. The moment he’d heard the agency was opening an office in Houston, he was ready to sign on. This would be his first case, and he was itching to get in the field and start proving his value to the agency.
“You have my personal assurance, Mr. Prentice,” Victoria said, drawing Lyle’s attention back to her and the challenge she would absolutely win, “that this matter will be handled in the most discreet manner. No one outside this room and a select few at my agency will know the details of this case. The Colby Agency’s reputation speaks for itself.”
Lyle studied the warden’s face, analyzed the way the muscles relaxed as he slowly but surely admitted defeat. He wasn’t totally convinced, but he had likely done his homework. A guarantee like that from the head of the Colby Agency was the best offer he was going to get. And, as Victoria said, there was no turning back at this point. The cards had been dealt, the wager on the table. Someone had to make the next move.
“If this gets out—”
“It won’t,” Simon assured the warden. “Not from the Colby Agency.”
“How can you protect these children—” Prentice closed his eyes, shook his head in resignation before opening his eyes once more “—these women when you don’t know if they’re even alive, much less where they are. My God, this is ludicrous.”
Lyle wanted to give the man a good, swift kick in the seat of the pants. They were wasting time with all this beating around the bush.
“We already have someone in place monitoring Clare Barker’s movements,” Simon enlightened Warden Prentice. “We took that measure immediately.”
Surprise and confusion cluttered the warden’s face. “How is that possible? They took her out of Mountain View in the middle of the night. Half a dozen decoy vehicles were used to elude the media and the horde picketing her release. No one—not even me—knows where she is!”
Lyle had learned quickly that at the Colby Agency the enigmatic Lucas Camp was an ace in the hole. Former CIA, the man had some serious connections of his own. Clare Barker had requested residence in Copperas Cove, north of her former hometown, Austin. Part of Lyle wanted to be the one keeping an eye of the woman, since the Cove was his hometown. But tracking down the truth was his primary goal.
“Be that as it may, Mr. Prentice,” Victoria confirmed, “if we could find her so quickly, others will too in time. If this is a game Barker is playing, perhaps his wife is a target and doesn’t even realize it. For all we know, she may be the one in danger. Obviously he has some who support his cause. We can provide protection for her in addition to surveillance if the need arises.”
“Mr. McCaleb will be tracking down the daughters through the woman Barker claims helped him get the children into hiding.” Simon looked from the warden to Lyle and back. “We hope to locate her before the end of the day. Depending on the situation, if the three are indeed alive, we’ll assign a bodyguard to keep an eye on each one until this mystery is solved one way or the other.”
Prentice held up his hands. “You’ve made several valid points.” He looked directly at Victoria. “Still, the only way I’m agreeing to this is if you keep me posted on your every step.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “That said, I have no choice but to inform the district attorney. If he has a problem with our decision, he and I will work it out.” He exhaled a burdened breath. “There’s no denying Barker has something up his sleeve, and I don’t want any time wasted on bureaucracy. We’ll do what we have to do.”
Handshakes and more assurances were exchanged before Victoria led the way from Warden Prentice’s office. Conversation was out of the question until they exited the facility. As soon as they were back at the agency’s offices, Lyle would prepare to move forward. He was champing at the bit, anxious to get down to business putting together the pieces of this bizarre puzzle of depravity.
“When we have Tolliver’s address,” Victoria said to Lyle, “I want you to approach her as if she represents a flight risk. Slow and easy. If Barker is telling the truth, she has kept this secret for a very long time. She may not be prepared to let go now. Particularly to a stranger.”
For the first time since Lyle had met Victoria Colby-Camp he noted uncertainty in those wise, dark eyes. He smiled. “You have my word. But, I have a feeling you believe I have the skills to handle the situation or I wouldn’t be here.”
Victoria returned the smile. “I just needed to confirm that you are as convinced as we are. This case will be anything but simple, I fear.”
Lyle imagined he’d have to wake up pretty early in the morning to get a step ahead of this lady.
In the visitors’ parking area, Simon hesitated before settling into his sedan. He pulled his cell phone from the interior